ASHLAND, Ore. – College of Idaho forced four second half turnovers, rallying from a 9-0 halftime deficit to defeat Southern Oregon, 17-15, at rainy Raider Stadium.
The No. 25-ranked Coyotes (6-2, 6-2 Frontier) improved to 4-0 on the road this season – weathering a crazy afternoon that featured a nearly two hour lightning delay prior to the opening kickoff and a challenging day for the offense. The victory, coupled with a Rocky Mountain loss at Montana Tech, moved C of I into a tie for first place in the Frontier Conference standings with two weeks remaining.
C of I got on the board midway through the third quarter, as
Allamar Alexander recovered a muffed punt deep inside SOU (3-5, 3-5) territory, setting up a
Cameron Simons 31-yard field goal.
Early in the fourth quarter, a 21-yard
Hunter Gilbert punt return set the Yotes up near midfield – with a 26-yard pass from
Ryan Hibbs to
John Kreps and a 12-yard run from
Nick Calzaretta helped the visitors reach the red zone. Calzaretta did the rest, punching in a 1-yard touchdown run to give C of I a 10-9 lead.
The Raiders went 3-and-out on their next possession and tried to punt, but
Cole Schmidt blocked the kick and returned the ball 4-yards for his first collegiate touchdown.
SOU tried to answer – as Blake Asciutto converted a 4th-and-33, connecting with Bryce Goggin on a 36-yard touchdown pass to cut the margin to 17-15 – but Asciutto's 2-point conversion pass failed.
The C of I defense did the rest, thwarting Southern's final three drives – as
Taeson Hardin and
Dorian Hardin forced fumbles that were recovered by
Dylan Martinez and
Brad Cushman, with Schmidt adding an interception.
The Raiders dominated the first half, holding the football for 22 minutes – but had to settle for three Cesar Ruiz field goals. Stokes Botelho picked off Hibbs twice, returning both to the end zone, but SOU penalties negated the scores.
Calzaretta rushed 20 times for 48 yards and the touchdown, with Hibbs finishing 15-of-24 for 145 yards.
Asciutto finished 21-of-38 for 219 yards in the loss.
C of I returns home next Saturday, hosting Eastern Oregon at 1 p.m.
NOTES:
- C of I had just 209 yards of total offense, including 61 rushing yards…the 61 rush yards the fewest since 2016 and the 209 yards off offense the fewest since football returned in 2014
- The Coyotes did not score in the first half, the first time since 2017 (at Southern Oregon)
- Both teams had 12 first downs in the contest
- Martinez and Taeson Hardin led the Yotes with nine tackles
- SOU rushed for just 53 yards in the loss
- Calzaretta pushed his career rushing total to 3,301 yards – just 112 yards from Darius-James Peterson's school record, while his fourth quarter touchdown was his 40th rushing touchdown of his career
- Simons' field goal was the longest of his career and his third made field goal of the season
- Schmidt's blocked punt was the first by the Yotes since 2019 and the first blocked punt return for a score since Isaiah Abdul returned a block punt for a touchdown at Eastern Oregon in 2018
